Class of 1983

Gary Bashor JD ’83 was selected by Washington Governor Chris Gregoire to replace retiring Superior Court Judge James Warme. Bashor has been carrying out judicial duties part time since 1999, when judges appointed him court commissioner. He will have to run for election this fall for the remaining year of Warme’s four-year term, and he will have to run again in the fall of 2012 to retain the seat. He says he intends to continue the work he’s been doing to increase people’s access to justice, part of which involves adding legal forms to the Superior Court website, which he redesigned, and linking them to a free translation program.

Meredith Nelson Black BA ’83 was promoted to first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In her new position, she will oversee the Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso branches of the bank. Black has been with the Dallas Fed since 1983.

Jill Phillips Brueningsen BA ’83 writes: “Lewis & Clark College prepared me for a digital future, although I did not know that in 1979, my freshman year. By 2000, publishing had moved to the internet, and I wanted to learn more. My comprehensive L&C education made it easy for me to return to university study and earn a master’s in computer information systems. I now work as a systems analyst for an insurance company. The best part about Lewis & Clark is that I made some lifetime friends. When we get together, we pick up where we left off. See you at the 2018 reunion!”

Jonathan Burton BA ’83 says he didn’t expect in May 1983 that Lewis & Clark would provide him with lifelong friends; a satisfying career as a journalist; and appreciation for learning, teaching, and listening. The journalism profession has taken him around the world and is never boring. Now, he’s a commentary editor for MarketWatch.com and has come full circle from writing opinion articles for the Pioneer Log at Lewis & Clark. Burton has served as a member of the Board of Alumni, an informal resource for the Pioneer Log. He was also a runner for L&C’s Pio-neering Hood to Coast Relay team in 2016.

Deborah Caldwell JD ’83 is owner of Caldwell Human Resources, which provides HR services for dental practices. Following advanced training in workplace mediation, facilitation and training, employment law, and human resources, Caldwell has worked with groups and conferences in Oregon and elsewhere. She created Caldwell Human Resources after a career that included school administration and teaching educational psychology and related courses at Pacific University.

Joined ADR Support Services Panel News. He is a shareholder in the law firm of Walstead Mertschin in Longview, Washington, where he maintains an active general civil litigation practice. His work involves representing both plaintiffs and defendants concerning insurance defense, personal injury, wrongful death, insurance coverage, real property, and commercial matters.

Benedikt Hoskuldsson BA ’83 and his wife, Hjordis Magnusdottir BA ’83, reside in Vienna, Austria, where Hoskuldsson is employed by an international organization working on sustainable energy for all. Magnusdottir, who works as a travel guide in Iceland, commutes extensively between Vienna and Reykjavik. Since graduating in 1983, the couple have moved around the world, working for the Icelandic government and raising their three children, Einar, Olof, and Magnus (who live in in Berlin, Reykjavik, and London, respectively). They also have two wonderful 2-year-old grandkids, Kristofer and Freyja, with whom they try to spend every free minute in Reykjavik and London.

Was named in the 2013 edition of Chambers USA, American’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Keeney is a shareholder with Tonkon Torp in Portland, and his real estate practice includes acquisitions and sales, financing, commercial leasing, and land use permitting. He represents local, regional, and national property owners and developers in a wide range of transactional matters and assists clients in land use proceedings before local governments.

Julie received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Minnesota. After earning her JD, she worked for Portland General Electric Company for 20 years. Julie was responsible for the license and water rights issues surrounding PGE’s five Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-licensed hydropower projects. She joined GEI Consultants in February 2015 as a senior consultant.

Julie served as president of the National Hydropower Association from 1997 to 1998 and of the Northwest Hydroelectric Association. Most recently, she was chair of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute. Over the course of her career, she testified before four congressional committees regarding the need to reform the relicensing process for hydropower projects. She also served on the federal advisory committee for the interagency task force that considered improvements to the licensing process. In 2003, she received the industry’s highest honor, the Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award.

Norma Kop BA ’83 currently serves as program specialist in the Developmental Disabilities Division of the Hawai‘i State Department of Health and is owner of a management consulting firm. She writes: “In my four years at Lewis & Clark, I gained a lifetime of real friends, the kind of relationships that my husband and three children (ages 14, 22, and 26) also enjoy. L&C also deepened my sensitivity to the perspectives of others. My career in business, education, and health care requires soft and technical know-how, teamwork, accuracy, enthusiasm, and more. L&C taught me to how to learn and how to use my skills to serve others. This is the greater purpose—to help people. I arrived. I observed. I applied. And I am grateful. My experience at L&C, some 30 years ago, is a tapestry of soft, rough, and essential lessons, ones that will help me keep moving forward. Always forward.”

Hjordis Magnusdottir BA ’83 and her husband, Benedikt Hoskuldsson BA ’83, reside in Vienna, Austria, where Hoskuldsson is employed by an international organization working on sustainable energy for all. Magnusdottir, who works as a travel guide in Iceland, commutes extensively between Vienna and Reykjavik. Since graduating in 1983, the couple has moved around the world, working for the Icelandic government and raising their three children, Einar, Olof, and Magnus (who live in in Berlin, Reykjavik, and London, respectively). They also have two wonderful 2-year-old grandkids, Kristofer and Freyja, with whom they try to spend every free minute in Reykjavik and London.

Was named in the 2015 and 2016 issues of Best Lawyers magazine for her work in health law. Marcum serves on the executive committee of the Oregon State Bar Health Law Section and the board of directors of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, and is a member of the Lewis & Clark Law Alumni Board. She is a shareholder with Keating Jones Hughes.

Joined Lindsay Hart as a partner. McKelvey’s practice focuses on professional liability, health law, medical malpractice, dental malpractice, representation before professional licensing boards, and HIPAA policy and security. Her work has earned her recognition in Oregon Super Lawyers and U.S. News Best Lawyers. She can be reached at cmckelvey@lindayhart.com.

Was appointed to serve on the Oregon State Bar’s Sustainable Future Section Executive Committee. The section supports sustainability within the Oregon legal profession by running educational programs, examining the integration of law and sustainability, and encouraging discussion about the needs and interests of future generations.

09/01/2013

Was named in the 2013 edition of Chambers USA, American’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Miller is a shareholder with Tonkon Torp in Portland, and he chairs the firm’s environmental and natural resources practice group.

With business partner Christina Eanes is the owner of MindSpring Metro DC, a company dedicated to executive and employee professional and personal development and coaching.

12/31/2014

Retired from her position on December 31, 2014, as a supervisory special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation after over 28 years of service. As a Lewis & Clark Law School graduate, she was eligible to become an FBI agent under the law program before training at the FBI Academy. She used the language skills she developed studying French at Colorado College to conduct FBI investigations in French-speaking countries.

Was named in the 2013 edition of Chambers USA, American’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Owren is a shareholder with Tonkon Torp in Portland, and heads the firm’s immigration practice group, advising clients on employment-related immigration and naturalization.

Mark Peterson BA ’83 reminds himself every morning how blessed he is to enjoy early retirement, which means lots of time for family, friends, travel to Germany, and volunteering in Seattle. He is very excited about this year’s Alumni Weekend and hopes to see many classmates in June. Peterson is determined to set foot in China, Israel, Kenya, and Japan before January 1, 2020.

02/15/2017

Mark Peterson BA ’83 completed a master’s degree in Soviet history at the University of Washington in 1986. That same year, he returned to Moscow, where he met his future wife, Iris, a citizen of East Germany. Their son, Lukas, was born in 1995. From 1989 to 2016, he worked for the U.S. Customs Service. Since 2016, he has been volunteering as chair of Mwanzo Proud Farmers, a nonprofit serving western Kenya.

Wendy Robinson BA ’83 moved to Bend, Oregon, after graduation, where she worked as a lab tech and volunteered with the High Desert Museum. Inspired by a favorite Lewis & Clark class, Robinson earned a PhD in genetics from the University of California at Berkeley, then moved to Zurich, Switzerland, with her husband, Joseph. She volunteered at a medical genetics lab at the University of Zurich to keep busy. Eventually, she was offered a postdoc position, which lasted five years. The couple later returned to North America, and Robinson found a faculty position in Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She’s been there more than 20 years. Robinson says that what she’s learned from all this is: “The path doesn’t have to be clear or direct. Just follow your passions and enjoy yourself along the way.”

Dennis H. Treacy JD ’83, who recently retired as executive vice president and chief sustainability officer of Smithfield Foods, joined Reed Smith LLP as senior counsel in its government relations and administrative law group in Richmond, Virginia. Treacy, who also was president of the Smithfield Foundation, is rector of Virginia Tech’s board of visitors and past chair the Virginia Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Previously, he was director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Treacy currently chairs VIRGINIAforever, an organization that advocates increased state funding for water quality and land conservation. In 2010, Lewis & Clark named him a Distinguished Environmental Law Graduate.

Bradley Volk BA ’83, who retired in July 2017 from the U.S. Air Force reserves, served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp for a combined 28 years of active and reserve duty. While on active duty, he had assignments in California, Korea, Germany, and Florida. He especially enjoyed his military experience in Korea–so much so, in fact, that he later returned to work as a teacher for about one and one-half years. Volk also served many years as a reservist at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Washington. As it turned out, one of his classmates worked as the wing commander at Volk’s reserve base. Volk gives credit to Lewis & Clark for helping him develop “a lifelong interest in foreign countries.” While a student, he participated in the Munich overseas study program. His wife is from Russia, so he’s traveled there several times and enjoys Russian culture. The couple are members of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. Volk works as a civilian lawyer.